Just as the harvest season was about to begin, local farmers, butchers and restaurateurs gathered at Eight Oaks Distillery to network and share ideas about the farm to table movement in the Lehigh Valley.

Barb Platt from Lehigh Carbon Community College originated the event.

Chad Butters of Eight Oaks hosted and served cocktails.

Other participants included Liz Wagner from Crooked Row Farm, Weisenberg Township; Allison Czapp from Buy Fresh Buy Local, Tod Auman from Dundore and Heister Butcher Shop, Wyomissing, Berks County, and Dennis Hartman from Hartman’s Butcher Shop, New Tripoli.

Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn brought peach pie with lavender ice cream and a cream made from corn topped with berry sauce using all local ingredients.

The theme for the evening, “How Green Is My Valley,” encapsulated the purpose for the gathering.

“The whole point [of the evening] was to provide an educational opportunity,” said Butters. “In the Lehigh Valley there is a whole lot of stuff going on in the farm to table movement. Not only are [products] local but the quality is outstanding.”

“How Green Was My Valley” was a popular novel written in 1939 by Richard Llewellyn.

The book follows the Morgans, a mining family living in Wales.

The title seemed apt considering the shared interests of the group regarding the Lehigh Valley’s farm to table movement which advocates purchasing and serving local food, stressing food freshness, seasonality and safety.

Butters said that a partnership with LCCC resulted in the event.

“They’re the ones who had that idea. We collaborated on it for a number of weeks and sold tickets to cover costs. It was actually an informal conversation of ideas.”

The evening was met with favorable reviews.

“I was impressed by the intricacies of the distillery processes,” said Judith Readnack, an LCCC attendee. “A $20 fee covered artisanal cocktails and a tour by the owner, Chad Butters [as well as] delectable desserts by Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn.”

“It was a good event and quite interesting,” said Hartman. “People shared how they got started and everybody learned something new.”

Around 40 people attended the event.

“There’s an [information] gap among the general public [regarding] what’s available,” said Butters. “We need to connect the dots.”

“We buy direct from the farmers,” said Hartman. “We age it here and harvest it here. We do it all.

“It’s important to inform consumers as far as what’s added to products [especially since many are at] high risk for certain health conditions.”

“Local farmers have more control of their products,” continued Hartman. “Our farmers take better care of their animals. For them, it’s been a family tradition.

“They know what goes on their crops.”

“The local community and businesses benefit by the use of local crops and livestock, which increases revenue and also the value of real estate,” said Readnack. “The topic interested me, especially since I live in New Tripoli.”

Eight Oaks’ distiller Logan Snyder said the evening was designed to “serve as a network and inform people of the movement.

“There are local gems that many people don’t [even] know about,” he said.